Lee County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

330,415

100.00%

435,087

100.00%

In Poverty

30,267

9.16%

42,316

9.73%

Not in Poverty

300,148

90.84%

392,771

90.27%

11 Years and Under

44,068

13.34%

56,608

13.01%

In Poverty

7,105

2.15%

9,316

2.14%

Not in Poverty

36,963

11.19%

47,292

10.87%

12 to 17 Years

19,985

6.05%

28,235

6.49%

In Poverty

2,656

0.80%

4,040

0.93%

Not in Poverty

17,329

5.24%

24,195

5.56%

18 to 64 Years

184,977

55.98%

240,829

55.35%

In Poverty

15,364

4.65%

22,802

5.24%

Not in Poverty

169,613

51.33%

218,027

50.11%

65 Years and Above

81,385

24.63%

109,415

25.15%

In Poverty

5,142

1.56%

6,158

1.42%

Not in Poverty

76,243

23.07%

103,257

23.73%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.